Beginning Monday drivers in Scranton can expect flashing red traffic lights and stop signs at 13 intersections in the city’s downtown.
The change begins the first phase in a testing period for potential traffic signal removal at some downtown intersections, according to the city.
“We'll be evaluating throughout that period if that works,” Mayor Paige Cognetti said last week.
The city is reminding drivers that they must treat those flashing red traffic signals as a stop sign.
Jeff Speck, a city planner and consultant, gave a lecture in 2018 at the University of Scranton. In 2019, with Wayne Evans as mayor, the city worked with Speck to come up with a Downtown Scranton Connectivity Plan. That plan spurred the current proposed changes to make downtown more walkable, slow down traffic and replace aging sidewalks and infrastructure.
The sidewalk project is almost complete.
Affected intersections
The Oct. 19 change impacts the following 13 intersections:
- Franklin Avenue at Biden Street
- Biden Street and Penn Avenue
- Biden Street and Wyoming Avenue
- Franklin Avenue at Linden Street
- Linden Street and Penn Avenue
- Linden Street and Wyoming Avenue
- Linden Street and North Washington Avenue
- Linden Street and Adams Avenue
- North Washington Avenue and Vine Street
- Vine Street and Adams Avenue
- Penn Avenue at Vine Street
- Vine Street and Jefferson Avenue
- Olive Street at Jefferson Avenue
Last year, city council was split on the vote to replace the traffic lights with stop signs and change some one way streets to two ways. But the proposal ultimately passed.
Changing lanes
Also beginning on Monday, some streets will taper down to one lane because of the stop signs.
- North Washington Avenue, between Mulberry and Linden Street, will taper down to one lane about halfway down the street. Drivers in that one lane will be expected to pause at the stop sign at Linden. North Washington will then open back up to two lanes.
- Biden Street will taper down to one lane until Penn Avenue.
- Adams Avenue, between Biden and Linden streets, will taper down to one lane and will continue to be one lane until Mulberry Street.
The road ahead
After 30 days of flashing red lights, the traffic lights will be bagged and the stop signs will remain in place for 60 days.
The city’s overall downtown plan also includes converting some one-way streets into two-way streets.
After the 30 days of flashing red traffic lights and stop signs, the city will convert portions of existing one-way streets to two-way traffic.
New two-way traffic patterns will initially be implemented on:
- Biden Street, from Wyoming Avenue to Franklin Avenue
- Linden Street, from Penn Avenue to Jefferson Avenue
- Adams Avenue, from Linden Street to Mulberry Street
- North Washington Avenue, from Olive Street to Mulberry Street
The two-way conversion on the remaining sections of Biden, Linden, Adams and North Washington will be implemented if traffic lights are replaced and stop signs installed at the intersections in early 2027.
For more details, visit www.scrantonpa.gov/traffic/.
